[e-drug] Expensive vaccines not needed? (cont)

[A.Heaton@SCFUK.ORG.UK]

E-drug: Expensive vaccines not needed? (cont)
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To ensure that e-drug readers of the BMJ article, as well as the response
from PATH, are fully informed of the views of those directly involved in the
recent GAVI research and subsequent policy statements, we would like to
refer readers to the online Rapid Responses submitted by both the London
School and SC-UK to the BMJ website, which clarifies our respective
positions. See http://bmj.com/cgi/eletters/324/7330/129.

Save the Children UK stands by the policy-related comments it has made with
regard to GAVI. These stem from the research on GAVI's impact undertaken by
and with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, but go further,
drawing from the experience we have gained of working in childhood
immunisation in developing countries over the past 20 years. Readers will be
able to access a pdf version of the original research, "New Products into
Old Systems", and the analysis paper written by SCF on the GAVI on our
website at http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/whatnew.

It is important that the debate now returns to the issues that are important
for children's immunisation. In the view of Save the Children UK, these are:
the current inadequacy of funding for sustainable health systems provided by
GAVI; the wisdom of rewarding countries' on the basis of their vaccination
performance alone, rather than indicators that reflect deeper levels of
impact, such as systems quality and morbidity; the costs, and opportunity
costs, of introducing new vaccines as a priority over improving the use of
effective, existing vaccines; the budgetary insecurity for recipient
countries of introducing new expensive vaccines for which funding is
guaranteed only for a limited time period; the wisdom of asking countries to
make rapid decisions over such vaccines; the independence of GAVI's
governance decisions from commercial, and potentially conflicting interests;
the additional 'transaction' costs and unsustainability of
programmes that are implemented vertically, in parallel with existing
healthcare systems.

We are pleased to hear that at the latest meeting of GAVI's Financing Task
Force, 21-26 January 2002, the importance of financing sustainable health
systems was a highlights of the discussions.

We look forward to further transparent debate on these issues.


Annie Heaton and Regina Keith
Policy Department
Save the Children UK
17 Grove Lane
London SE5 8RD
a.heaton@scfuk.org.uk
r.keith@scfuk.org.uk

[A note at the SCF website explains that the PDF of the original 
research is not yet available there but it is to be available soon. 
BS]
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